Get to know Chongzhou
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- Administrative area
- County-level city · 县级市
- Part of
- Chengdu
- Chinese name
- 崇州市
- Local areas
- County-level city guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,090.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 735,723
- Administrative seat
- Chongyang Subdistrict
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
Jiangyuan County (江原县) was set up here in 206 BC, the first year of the Han founder. The Tang made it Shuzhou in 686, the Southern Song raised it to Chongqing Prefecture (崇庆府) in 1146, and the Yuan reduced it to Chongqing Department (崇庆州) in 1283. It became Chongqing County in 1913 and the city of Chongzhou in June 1994. In 1803 the French bishop Xu Dexin (徐德新) held the first synod of the Sichuan church at Chongqing Department, the first Catholic church council convened inside China.
What to see
Yanhua Pond (罨画池), in the city centre, began in the Tang as the garden of a government office. Zhao Bian (赵抃), magistrate of Jiangyuan in the 1040s, dug the pond, and the poet Lu You (陆游), posted here in 1173, wrote more than thirty poems about it. Today the garden joins the pond, the Lu You Shrine (陆游祠) and the Confucian temple of Chongqing Department; most buildings are Qing rebuilds. It was listed as a major national protected site in 2001.
Yuantong (元通古镇), about 15 km from the city centre, is a national historic town founded in the Eastern Jin, with houses along the water and a pottery trade; its Qingming spring fair (清明春台会) has run for close to 400 years and is on the Sichuan intangible-heritage list. Jiezi (街子古镇), not far from Yuantong, lies closer to Mount Qingcheng (青城山) and Dujiangyan.
Food and local products
Daoming bamboo weaving (道明竹编), centred on Daoming town (道明镇), has been on the national intangible-heritage list since 2014. Weavers use local cizhu bamboo (慈竹) and build each piece in three stages: base, weave and rim. Chongzhou oxtail bamboo shoots (崇州牛尾笋) are a national geographical-indication product, and the city once produced a local liquor, Chongyang Daqu (崇阳大曲).
Highlights
- Yanhua Pond 罨画池: Tang-origin office garden with the Lu You Shrine and the Confucian temple; national protected site from 2001.
- Yuantong Ancient Town 元通古镇: National historic town dating from the Eastern Jin, known for its Qingming spring fair.
- Daoming bamboo weaving 道明竹编: National intangible heritage since 2014, woven from local cizhu bamboo.
- Chongzhou oxtail bamboo shoots 崇州牛尾笋: National geographical-indication product.
Sources for this guide
崇州市 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
罨画池 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
竹编（道明竹编） - 中国非物质文化遗产网 · China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (Chinese National Academy of Arts)
十字路口的古镇｜成都古镇样本调查：重资产困境与破局之道 · The Paper (澎湃新闻)
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Chongzhou
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Chongzhou
A gate archway decorated with lanterns on a street in Jiezi Ancient Town, Chongzhou · 成都市崇州市街子古镇挂灯笼的牌楼街道 Source-recorded photograph date: 2024-07-11.Jiezi Ancient Town街子古镇
Jiezi sits beside the Weijiang River below Fengqi Mountain. Its lanes, bridges and ginkgo square make a compact introduction to the western Sichuan townscape. The Ziku Tower recalls the custom of respectfully collecting and…
Read the place guide →
Pond and garden pavilion at Yanhua Pond Garden in Chongzhou, photographed in 2008.Yanhua Pond Garden罨画池
Yanhua Pool is a historic garden complex in central Chongzhou. It brings together the pool garden, a shrine to the poet Lu You and the former Chongqingzhou Confucian Temple. The water is therefore only one part of a site that…
Read the place guide →
Yuantong Ancient Town · 元通古镇Yuantong Ancient Town元通古镇
Yuantong developed around converging rivers and the trade they carried through the Chengdu Plain. Qilin, Shuangfeng and Banbian streets retain the scale of an older market settlement, with courtyard buildings and mature trees…
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Chongzhou is about 40 km in a straight line from central Chengdu. Search for 崇州市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Jiezi Ancient Town and Yanhua Pond Garden are about 25 km apart in a straight line. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Chengdu →More in Chengdu
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 崇州市 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Some facts checked against 罨画池 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Jiezi Ancient Town · Xiumuzidiao · CC BY 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Yanhua Pond Garden · 本本一世 · CC BY-SA 3.0. Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping, retouching or changing the photographed subject.
Photo: Yuantong Ancient Town · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.